The Darkroom Gallery Difference

Photography Galleries are popping up all over, both on-line and as brick and mortar. Many run juried or otherwise competitive entry exhibits. Some for a fee and some for free in exchange for your photo. This page is intended to highlight the things that we think make the Darkroom Gallery different. There are quite a few and we will be adding to this list so check it from time to time.

Things Change

We know that nothing is constant and you never know when inspiration or happenstance results in a new fabulous image. So we let you change your submissions right up till the last minute. You can add more images, replace images, change titles etc. Even after you have already checked out. You can do it on-line 24/7.

Darkroom Gallery Masters

After three years of great photography exhibitions, we noticed that a handful of photographers are "regulars". We created the Darkroom Gallery Masters program to acknowledge their consistently excellent work and support of the Darkroom Gallery in our mission.

We're Open

Of course exhibitors' work from our current and all of our past exhibits are displayed on our web site 24/7; but our gallery is also open 7 days a week 5 hours a day. Since we have food establishments on both sides of us that are open seven days a week, we want to expose exhibitor's work to that traffic. That's what we're here for.

Promotion vs Protection

It's a challenge balancing promotion vs protection. We certainly prevent simple right/ctrl click copy of images off our web site. But we go one step further to protect your work from being misappropriated. The images we show to the public are down sampled to 360,000 pixels. (all aspect ratios get equal representation). Not just scaled. Large enough to appreciate on a screen but too small for quality reproduction when scraped with a screen capture utility.

Size Does Not Matter

We don't want to cramp your style. Since we opened in 2010 we've hung works as large as five feet long and never turned anyone away because their work was too large. We've even added magnetic boards so that very large prints can be displayed without framing. As long as we know in advance, we'll try and accommodate any size work.

Use Our Frames

Shipping framed work increases expense and risks damage. Unless your framing is an integral part of your work - consider using our frames. It's free! We have four frame sizes and six mat configurations. Our frames are Nielson metal flat black with clean flat surfaces. We use reflection control conservation UV protection glass. Our mats are precut rag mats, so naturally acid free, and white.

Walls Only

Our exhibitions are physical exhibitions only. Sure, having an additional on-line only group of selections increases the number of chosen works, but we think the exposure isn't the same and certainly the probability of sale is less if not nil. Our response to increasing submissions has been to increase our wall space. We currently can and have displayed exhibitions of up to 69 works.

Last Minute Changes

Ever wish you could change an entry you've already made? We understand that you might capture a great new image or figure out a new take on one you've already submitted. Now you can delete and replace images in your entry right up till the last minute. So, enter early and adjust your entry if something unexpected comes up. It will make less stress for us all at the deadline.

More Information on What Hangs

We have always allowed photographers to enter a 250 character description which is displayed on gallery labels and in exhibit catalogs. We just added (3/1/12)separate fields for information about equipment, processing and printing methods that let photographers answer the most common questions we get about prints at the gallery. This information shows on exhibit labels, is hover over info in the online gallery, and in the exhibit catalog.

Details Details Details

It's a little thing, but photographers know it's the little things that count. When we generate thumbnails for our juror review page and on-line gallery we create them all with the same area. Panoramas get the same space as portrait or square images. When images are all the same width, which is typical, landscape images are at a disadvantage over portrait oriented images. Not here.

View and Be Viewed

This feature allows you to see all the entries for an exhibit - not just those selected. You must be willing to share yours and only those from others willing to share can be seen. Usually this is about 80% of all entries. A great way to gain insight into the juror's selection process. Read more...

Fast Exhibit Selection

Our proprietary on-line juror review and selection system lets us get submissions into the hands of our jurors within 24 hours of submission close with results announced within one week of submissions close, sometimes within 4 days. Juror's have remarked at the ease of review and selection.

Entries are Anonomized

We do not depend on uploaded file names to keep track of which image belongs to which photographer. So juror's can't tell, from the file name, if an image comes from one of their workshop participants, a neighbor or a friend.

Jurors

Jurors are set when we announce an exhibit. You always know who will judge your work before you make a submission. We seek established jurors that have a demonstrated knowledge and/or body of work related to the theme of the exhibit they will judge. Here is a list of past jurors.

Complete Exhibit History

All of our past exhibits, with a complete gallery, are on-line and available for view on our web site. See our past exhibits here.

Low Cost of Participation

If selected for one of our exhibits all you need do is get us a print. We supply the frame and mat. So participating in our exhibits can cost as little as the entry fee and cost of a print and shipping. Read more...

Recognition Prizes

We don't have a budget for large cash prizes - at least not yet, but our juror's choice does receive a vinyl bannerfeaturing their image and our people's choice gets free entry into a future exhibit. We've just added free catalogs as prizes to jurors choice and honorable mentions

We Mark What Sells

Of course we want to create great exhibits that draw photography lovers and collectors from our region. But we really consider ourselves successful when we sell your work. We share that success by marking what sold, on-line, in our on-line galleries.

Exhibit Catalogs

We produce an exhibit catalog for almost all of our exhibits. You can see and purchase them at PrestoPhoto

Photographer Community

The photographer community supports us and we support the photographer community. We run two regional events per year. We host many local photo club meetings as well as classes and seminars by exhibit jurors.

We accept and have displayed work from photographers that hail from 35 different countries. Our print service makes it easy for distant photographers to participate.

Artists' Receptions

Although certainly not unique we think giving the public a chance to meet our exhibitors and for our exhibitors to meet each other is very important in the growth of any artist. We love hearing the stories behind the images we display and always have refreshments including adult beverages.